On November 2nd, Sahiyo Programs Coordinator Catherine Cox and current volunteer (as well as former Development Assistant) Sarrah Hussein partnered on a presentation for a class at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Minnesota on the topic of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). The presentation included some background on what FGM/C is, it’s prevalence in the U.S., and some legal background in the United States. More specifically, they introduced some of Sahiyo’s past legal work in Massachusetts, and current work to get a comprehensive state-wide law passed in Connecticut . 

To learn more about Sahiyo’s community education and outreach programs, visit this page on our website.

By Meg Sinnott

This October 11th marks the Tenth Annual Day of the Girl Child, a day created by the United Nations General Assembly to highlight girls’ empowerment and promotion of their rights as well as to address challenges to gender equity. As outlined by the OECD, investing in women economically and socially benefits everybody. Investing in girls is an investment in the women of the future, and thus in the future itself. 

Girls can face a distinct set of gender inequitable challenges including child marriage, exclusion from education, gender-based violence, and harmful practices like female genital cutting (FGC). As advocates against FGC, the core of Sahiyo’s mission is to work with the community to ensure girls’ bodily integrity and protect them from harm. Read further to learn about Sahiyo's work and how we meet this mission. 

What is Sahiyo doing?

Connecticut Coalition to End FGM/C

In 2013, the Population Reference Bureau estimated that 2,658 women and girls in Connecticut (CT) were at risk of undergoing - or having already undergone - female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Sahiyo, a founding member of the Connecticut Coalition to End FGM/C, is building a survivor-led coalition of FGM/C activists, organizations, researchers, policymakers, foundations, healthcare providers, and others dedicated to protecting girls by bringing an end to FGM/C in Connecticut. Connecticut remains one of the last ten states in the U.S. without any such legal protection. The coalition is proposing a bill that aims to:

• Build partnerships between Connecticut’s state departments and agencies to prevent FGM/C and to protect and provide assistance to survivors
• Educate health service providers to provide culturally responsive services to survivors
• Ensure state agencies partner with community-based experts who are working with survivors to create training, materials, and other support services for survivors 

For the past two years, the coalition has met with stakeholders and legislators to educate them on FGC and the need for a holistic bill protecting future generations of girls from this harm. Learn more at http://endfgmcinct.com. 

Increasing Capacity to Support FGC Survivors

In January 2022, Sahiyo began working with Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS), a domestic violence organization based in San Francisco, CA, on a three-year project funded by the Department of Justice - Office of Victims of Crime to increase the capacity of care for survivors of FGC in the United States. For eight months, Sahiyo has provided a series of in-depth, interactive trainings to AWS staff, volunteers, and crisis line volunteers about FGC, the mental and physical health consequences of this harmful practice, and how to best support survivors. As a result, AWS was able to expand the capacity of its crisis line to include supporting survivors of FGC in August 2022.  

How can you support Sahiyo?  

To support the valuable work that Sahiyo does to protect the bodily integrity of girls and women, we invite you to participate in Sahiyo's first-ever virtual fundraising event, Sahiyo’s International Women’s Day Celebration & Silent Auction, from  March 8-12, 2023. During this five-day event, we’ll celebrate women's voices with video spotlights, stories, and entertainment. For more information about the event, donating auction items, participating in the program, volunteering on the planning committee, or sponsoring this event, please contact Sahiyo Development Coordinator, Michelle Taylor at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This October 11th marked the Tenth Annual Day of the Girl Child, a day created by the United Nations General Assembly to highlight girls’ empowerment and promotion of their rights as well as to address challenges to gender equity. 

To honor the occasion, Sahiyo collaborated with partner organizations in two events to raise awareness of the harms of female genital cutting (FGC) and the work our organization is involved in to support survivors and work towards prevention of FGC for future generations.

• FGM Taskforce of Greater Los Angeles - A moderated panel with advocates in honor of the International Day of the Girl Child and Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The event was hoted by the FGM Taskforce of Greater Los Angeles. Speakers included: Athia Carrim, Dr. Nina Smart, Mariya Taher, Dr. Brenda Kaye Ingram, Muluemebet Alemayehu. 
• Voices to End FGM/C - A discussion-based event to uplift storytellers from the Voices to End FGM/C digital storytelling project and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl Child. The event was hosted by The World Bank, and sponsored by the GFLID FGM Legal Work Group Group, Sahiyo, and StoryCenter. Speakers included: Isabella Micali Drossos, Mariya Taher, Renee Bergstrom, Bayor Chantal, Amy Hill, Lou M.C. Granier. 

We are thankful for their collaboration and support, and look for future opportunities to work together to uplift girls’ empowerment! 

Read further to learn more about Sahiyo's work to uplift girls everyday.

Date: Thursday, September 29, 2022

Time: 1:00 PM EST 

Registration Link: bit.ly/MovingCTAhead 

This webinar, sponsored by Sahiyo, The Connecticut Coalition to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, and the Connecticut Commission on the Status of Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, will explore ideas on how to change harmful social norms like female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) through policy and legal methods. 40 other states have passed legal protections to address this harmful practice, yet Connecticut remains an outlier. 

The panelists for this event include Zehra Patwa, Co-Founder of WeSpeakOut, Michelle Dumas Keuler, Human Rights Attorney with the State of Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, and Faith Vos Winkel, who was formerly at the Office of the Child Advocate. The webinar will be moderated by Steven Hernandez, Executive Director for the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity, and Opportunity.

This October, South Asian SOAR (Survivors, Organizations, and Allies — Rising, or SOAR), released the Together We Rise report. This collective of survivors, 30+ organizations, and allies, of which Sahiyo is a member of, works to advance the national movement to end gender-based violence (GBV) in the South Asian diaspora within the United States.

This report is a culmination of key findings from listening sessions held with its network, which spans across 13 states, in partnership with the Asian Pacific Institute on GBV (API-GBV). It sheds light on the challenges and needs of South Asian survivors, frontline organizations, communities, and the anti-GBV movement. Also included in the report is female genital cutting (FGC) as a form of GBV that is found amonst the South Asian Diaspora, as well as the limited services available to address this in a culturally competent manner. Sahiyo is proud to have contributed to this report and the work of South Asian SOAR.

To read the report, visit www.togetherwerise.report.

This International Women's Equality Day Sahiyo and Asian Women’s Shelter Launch Nations First Community-Based, Culturally Responsive Hotline to Support Survivors of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting!

Across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control estimates over half a million women and girls are impacted or at risk of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Yet, few resources exist to support survivors in their journey toward healing and protecting future generations from this practice. 

This past year, Sahiyo has collaborated with Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS) to expand AWS’s capacity to support survivors of FGM/C. Sahiyo has provided a number of trainings to AWS staff, volunteers, interpreters, and crisis line counselors on understanding the impact of FGM/C on individuals and families in the United States, supporting survivors and their loved ones, and navigating the landscape of limited resources supporting those affected by FGM/C.

AWS opened in 1988 with an emergency shelter and a 24/7 multilingual crisis line to support survivors and communities to navigate harms, hardships, and healing related to gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence in immigrant and refugee communities. From its beginnings, AWS has operated at and centered the intersection of culture, violence, language, gender, immigration, nationality, sexuality, and more. Since then, AWS has grown and deepened its commitment to preventing and intervening in gender-based violence. AWS is still a grassroots, culturally grounded organization that centers community engagement and holistic, trauma-informed, peer-based empowerment. 

The goal of this collaborative project between Sahiyo and AWS is to address gaps in resources for underrepresented populations of survivors in the U.S. in need of support services to reduce the harms of FGM/C. With that in mind, the AWS crisis line will be open to taking calls from FGM/C survivors and impacted communities starting this August 26th, 2022 in honor of Women's Equality Day.

Hotline Operator: San Francisco Asian Women’s Shelter

Number: 1-877-751-0880

Hours of Operation: 

Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM PST

“Unlike other crisis lines, this crisis line offers survivors and those from impacted communities the opportunity to discuss their questions, concerns, and needs surrounding FGM/C in a judgment-free space without automatically connecting them to law enforcement. The crisis line staff have been thoroughly trained on the physical, mental, and social impacts of FGM/C as well as how to best support survivors in their journey toward healing.” – Mariya Taher, Sahiyo Co-Founder and Executive Director  

“AWS respects you, your privacy, your experience, and your choices. If you’re wanting a confidential, language and culturally accessible place to talk with someone about the violence you’re experiencing, witnessing, anticipating, and/or trying to avoid or escape, please call whenever you’re ready. AWS will never share your personal information, and you will be in control of what you choose to share or not share. Culture and violence can interact in a way that can be doubly intimate and devastating. We are here to support you.” - Orchid Pusey, Asian Women’s Shelter Executive Director 

To learn more about the project and this new resource for FGM/C survivors, contact Mariya Taher, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

About the Collaborators: 

Sahiyo’s mission is to empower Asian and other communities to abandon the practice of FGM/C through education, collaboration, and dialogue based on community involvement. Founded in 2015, Sahiyo aims to enable a culture in which a woman/girl’s body and female sexuality is not feared or suppressed but embraced as normal. Sahiyo has 7-years of experience working with communities to empower people to end FGM/C and support survivors.  

Asian Women’s Shelter’s mission is to eliminate domestic violence by promoting the social, economic, and political self-determination of women and all survivors of violence and oppression. AWS was founded in 1988 to address the urgent and unmet needs of survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, especially those who are limited English proficient immigrant or refugee women, children, LGBTQ+/GNB people, and/or youth. 

This project was produced by Sahiyo and Asian Women’s Shelter under 15POVC-21-GG-00988-NONF, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this project are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

On October 14th, Mohammad Chappalwala, a Bhaiyo (male ally), will be virtually presented with the Donald A. Strong Man of The Year award by the Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation. Mr. Chappalwala, who is based in India, will be unable to accept his award in-person, but is deeply humbled by the gesture; to put it in his own words, Mohammad believes he has “just started this journey of speaking out against the practice.” All of us at Sahiyo are proud to support the work of community members such as Mohammad, and are hopeful about further collaboration across our Bhaiyo program. Congratulations! 

To learn more about his contribution as a Bhaiyo, read this story on advising a concerned father how to navigate his daughters' risk of undergoing FGC.

This past year, Sahiyo has collaborated with Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS) on a number of trainings to educate staff, volunteers, and crisis line workers on the impact of FGC in the United States, as well as how to support survivors of FGC. The goal of this collaborative project between Sahiyo and AWS is to address gaps in resources for survivors from underrepresented populations within the U.S. who need support services to reduce the harms of FGC. With that in mind, the AWS crisis line will be open for taking calls from FGC survivors and impacted communities starting on August 26th, 2022 in honor of Women's Equality Day.

Hotline Operator: San Francisco Asian Women’s Shelter

Number: 1-877-751-0880

Hours of Operation: Monday thru Friday, 9 to 5 pm PST